NES D-pad
by
Abstract: Video game controllers shape, enhance, and constrain the relationship between the virtuality of digital games and the physical agency and meaningful actions of the player. David O’Grady’s examination of perhaps the most significant video game controller ever developed—the Nintendo Entertainment System Directional Pad (D-pad)—traces the material history of a game interface, and analyzes how controller design and use profoundly influence the aesthetic experience of video games as played, interactive art forms.
This essay may be found on page 269 of the printed volume.